Fragrance: Miller Harris ‘Vetiver Insolent’

Miller Harris Vetiver Insolent

For those in whom the spirits live loudly, for those with mischief and courage. This audacious scent brings energy, action. It’s the moment a face ensnares you, when a smile brings you under its spell, and you throw caution to the wind. At once rebellious and sensual, Vetiver Insolent has a natural aura, a charismatic allure. Its base is vetiver, a deep-rooted grass from Haiti, full of sweet, fresh earthiness and an enemy of melancholia. Brazen notes of bergamot and cardamom engender curiosity, giving way to energizing black pepper, elemi and a whisper of lavender.

Notes

Top Notes: Bergamot, Black pepper, Cardamom, Elemi

Heart Notes: Iris, Lavendin Absolute, Amber

Base Notes: Vetiver, Tonka bean Absolute, Oakmoss

Perfumer:Mathieu Nardin

My Thoughts

I am a huge fan of Miller Harris and their stunning perfumes. When I go in their Bruton Store (which is often!) I can spend ages roaming around picking up all the candles and spraying all the perfume, I generally don’t leave the shop until I am completely nose-blind and I have dowsed myself in La Feuille. If you have never tried La Feuille, please do, it’s literally incredible, it contains over 900 ingredients and it’s just the most beautiful complex perfume filled with greens, fruits and wood. Damn, I got side-tracked! Anyway, I love Miller Harris, I love their beautiful fragrances, everything has a wonderful fresh, natural feel to it, like they have plucked the ingredient straight from nature and put it right into the beautiful floral print bottle. The latest fragrance from Miller Harris is Vetiver Insolent and it is part of the Editions Collection. The other fragrances in the collection are beautiful, but they have a much softer, lighter feel, Vetiver Insolent has more of a punch to it. I love Vetiver in fragrances, but much like oud, I think it needs to be supported by other notes to soften it and make it a fuller fragrance. Vetiver is commonly used in perfumery, but often not mentioned as it is only a small amount at the heart or base to give  the fragrance extra depth and texture. I think in the future, we will start seeing more fragrances with vetiver as a main accord, much like we do with oud. This is actually the second fragrance Miller Harris have released with Vetiver at the heart of the fragrance (always setting trends), the other being Veti Vert. Veti Vert is part of the Perfumer’s Library collection and it stays very true to the raw ingredient, it contains five different variations of Veti Vert, and whilst it’s beautifully made, it’s much more for the connoisseur, Vetiver Insolent has a much softer, floral feel. Vetiver has quite a dry, earthy feel, it can be sharp and almost quite bitter, almost like hot, barren land. Miller Harris have paired this with spicy warm notes to give it an exotic feel and then softened it with florals at the heart and sweet warm notes like vanilla and resins. Vetiver Insolent reminds me a little of Marrakech; the hot, dry, earthy land, mixed with the spice markets and the fresh flowers we had daily in our hotel room. It’s one to put on your sniff list, because I’m truely obsessed with it! Oh and on my skin, the florals come out a lot more, on my boyfriends skin, it’s a lot more earthy, so it’s definitely a good one to share!

Miller Harris Vetiver Insolent is available from April 7th 2016 and it can be purchased from Miller Harris, Harrods, Miller Harris, Selfridges and Very Exclusive.